Thursday, January 7, 2010

God Bless America??

I mean it's obvious: I love Longhorn everything. And I made ridiculous comments throughout the game, jumped up and down when appropriate, screamed a couple of boarder-line not nice words, and may or may not have teared up during Colt McCoy's interview. But it seems silly. You know... football. The MILLIONS and BILLIONS of dollars that sport brings in would save third world countries. I feel like tonight I was disgusted by so many things other than the score:
One, friends who have no ties to Alabama becoming tshirt fans for one night and being loud about it. This irritates me enough that my blood pressure suffers.
Two, that most of the football players do not speak correct english during interviews. I listened in class and am STILL having to listen in class. You could have at least payed attention to learn grammar... you know?
Three, I think bad words when teams without hand signals throw the Hook Em sign down. Slightly offensive, but thats just a personal thing. I can't help it.
Four, and this is the big one which I will have to go into and explain before you all deport me somewhere. It's just odd that we as a country have the luxury to spend so much on this sport, and we open up the game by singing about how great our country is. God Bless America.


Has He not already? Don't get me wrong. God doesn't have a problem with eating and drinking and owning things. It's when those things come at the expense of others' having their basic needs met. It is then when we are so far from where the Lord wants us. And here is where America is at currently:
* America makes up less than 5% of the world's population. And we, the 5%, own a fifth of the world's wealth.
* One billion people in the world do not have access to clean water, while the average American uses four hundred to six hundred liters of water a day.
* Every seven seconds, somewhere in the world a child under the age of 5 dies of hunger, while Americans throw away 14% of the food we purchase.
* Nearly one billion people in the world live on less than one American dollar a day.
* Americans spend more annually on trash bags than nearly half of the world does on all goods.
These are hard to swallow, but most of the time I just feel guilty. Yet guilt is such a safe feeling. It doesn't spur on any action at all. Awareness, Knowledge and Passion. Those three might actually get you somewhere.


As Rob Bell puts it: Empires (there have been many--Babylon, Egypt, etc--and now America) accumulate. And that accumulation has consequences. Blessing and abundance can turn into burdens and curses. The number of Americans taking antidepressants has tripled in the past decade. If all of this was supposed to make us happy, why are so many of us so sad?

Of course there are those that are sad, and there are those who's response to accumulation is entitlement. You "deserve" what you have. You worked for it by golly. While the Spaniards across the pond took a siesta.. you work through lunch and dinner. That promotion is the LEAST you should be getting. Or even better..when you look at someone who has it bad and the first thing you think is "they deserve that".


The people that Moses led away from the Empire of Egypt were told to beat into their children's brains the history of their exile. Because if and when they're belongings became abundant, they should know it is not from their own doing, for they would still be slaves if it hadn't been for the Lord. So praise His name for your new sheep.


God has blessed America. Don't you think it's so we can bless others? Don't get me wrong, I find myself tear up when I see soldiers see their families on TV coming home from deployment. I love the national anthem before a baseball game. And I love commemorating the 4th of July. But it's time for us to consider ourselves citizens of the world, not America. The Lord didn't bless us to rule others or be the best (please remind me of this during the Olympics. I check the medal count frequently). He does not only live amongst the suburban neighborhoods. Actually I think it is where there is turmoil that the Lord is moving most, because the Devil sees it and attempts to ruin it.

Sidenote: Does anyone else think it's odd that Jesus was a man living in a country that was occupied by soldiers trying to keep the peace? Does that sound familiar to anyone now? I don't know what to make of it, but I wrestle with it.


I am so blessed. But I am blessed so that I may be a blessing. Let us never forget the widow, the orphan or the refugee. The Lord speaks of them often in the Word. May we think like Him, and never forget what He has done. Let our pride fall by the waist side so that others may bask in knowing Him AND in maybe owning, drinking, and eating as we do.



All of the facts came from the US Census, UNICEF, and a research article from 'o7 by Oliver James

Monday, January 4, 2010

Go to the mattresses


For those of you who appreciate the beloved classic "You've Got Mail" with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, you will know the phrase "Go to the mattresses". You may also know it from The Godfather. Except when I'm using this phrase, I don't mean go to war. I mean Travis and I are literally looking for a mattress. Isn't that weird? Our first purchase together (and when I say together I mean Travis is buying it and I get to put in my opinion) is going to be a mattress and boxspring.


This is all because Travis is moving this weekend into his new apartment and doesn't have a bed except for a twin size one at home. He just can't bare to sleep in a twin size any longer so we are going to go ahead and buy our bed and he's going to use it for now. But I can't get over that I'm helping him with this endeavor. Because I'll be sleeping in it too. WEIRD.


I just needed a way to process this information. I love being engaged, but the things you must buy are just odd. Sooo Sleep Experts.. here we come!! If I was an aggie.. I'd "WHOOP".